Bearg’s exposure to HVAC dates from childhood. His father was a HVAC design engineer in the days when takeoffs and load calculations were performed manually. In junior high school, the younger Bearg would use discarded blueprints to cover his textbooks. Bearg jokes that his mother’s degrees in economics and psychology also influenced him, as, “Ultimately, all building decisions depend on the almighty dollar, and people in buildings can behave as if they were crazy.”

In addition to his work evaluating mechanically ventilated buildings, Bearg maintains a home, Sage Farm, that has become a research facility dedicated to increasing the energy efficiency of our housing stock while still providing good indoor-air quality. The property includes airlocks, a greenhouse, a sun porch, a sun room, a solar-heated woodworking shop, and a solar-heated cabin.

“One motivation for accepting the invitation to being on the Editorial Advisory Board is that it will allow me to offer suggestions how building operations could both improve the healthfulness of the indoor environment, as well as reduce energy consumption and, thereby, make their operation more sustainable,” Bearg said.